The present invention relates to material handling equipment, and more particularly to a conveyor system having a turn or curve in the load carrying path.
The use of spiral conveyor systems for extending the effective length of a conveyor belt within a given area of floor space is well established. Such spiral conveyor systems are, for example, frequently used in the food industry to hold freshly baked or cooked goods in a cooling environment for some time prior to a succeeding operation, such as packaging.
A continuing problem of such conveyor systems is the space that they require. Considerable effort is being expended in the development of small or reduced radius conveyor belts that can turn within a smaller lateral radius than conventional conveyor belts, while being of the same width as the belts used on conventional spiral conveyor systems. Such a small radius spiral conveyor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,655.
A major problem associated with small radius conveyor systems is that, as the turning diameter of the conveyor belt is reduced, the tension on the belt is increased. This increased tension causes premature failure of belt components and severely reduces belt life. A second problem associated with small radius spiral conveyors is that as the turning radius is decreased, the transmission of power from the capstan to the conveyor belt must be increased. Such an increased level of power transmission is not possible with conventional conveying equipment.